Solatorobo: Half Life
by PyroFrost135
Summary: The City 17 heroes are accidentaly teleported to the Shepherd Republic where they meet Red and his friends. They have a short time before the Borealis teleports back, and a recent threat returns and threatens Shepherd. updated chapters on my DA page
1. Chapter 1

"Please…don't leave me…" Alyx Vance mourned over her father, Eli Vance's, lifeless body. Combine Advisors were not even a minute ago about to give the same fate to Gordon Freeman and Alyx as Eli, but Dog came to the rescue, causing the Advisors to flee in fear since they would rather take flight than stay to fight. Gordon got up from where he was laying and crouched next to Alyx and put his hand on her shoulder, looking down at the lifeless body of Alyx's father.

"Alyx…" Gordon spoke up. Alyx sniffed and turned to Gordon. Her eyes were crimson with a deluge of tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Gordon…he's…he's gone…" Alyx wept then looked back down at her father. Dog, who was still nearby, made a sad whine sound.

"Alyx, people die. That's the cycle of life. I know it can be heartbreaking, especially if it's a loved one, but look at me; I've seen death many times, but I move on. That's all I do. I just move on." Gordon said trying to make Alyx feel better. Alyx looked back up at Gordon. She wiped her eyes dry and replied with "I guess your right…Thanks, Gordon." Alyx showed a weak smile and Gordon smiled back. Suddenly, they heard the hangar doors that they entered through a few minutes ago bang open. Two figures ran to Gordon and Alyx. The two figures turned out to be Isaac Kleiner and Arne Magnusson; the two scientists responsible for the rocket launch that closed the Combine super portal.

"Gordon! Alyx! Are you both alright?" Isaac exclaimed.

"We heard loud bangs coming from the hangar." Arne stated.

"We're fine now, but…" Gordon said as he looked over to Eli's body. Alyx stiffened, but remained strong.

"No…It can't be…" Isaac and Arne said in synchronization. Isaac fell to his knees and cupped his hands on his face. Arne bowed his head in sorrow.

"Eli's…Eli's…gone." Isaac said silently, filled with sorrow like Arne.

"Dr. Vance…" Arne muttered. All of them felt the sorrow of the scientist's death overcome them, but they quickly shaked it off. They couldn't give up just yet. They were almost done with the salvation of Earth. Suddenly, Gordon had an idea.

"Can't the Vorigaunts heal him like they did with Alyx?" Gordon asked thinking there was a ray of hope.

"I'm sorry, Gordon and Alyx, but his wounds are incapable of being healed." Arne said. Gordon and Alyx looked down in sadness that the plan couldn't work.

"If that's the case, what are we gonna do for a burial ceremony?" Alyx asked. She wanted to make sure that her father would sleep peacefully if he could be healed.

"I'm sure the Vortigaunts can perform a ceremonial ritual. Me and Arne will take Eli to the Vortigaunts and see what they'll do. You two need to fire up that helicopter and get to the Borealis. I wish there was more we could do, but there isn't." Isaac explained. Gordon and Alyx slowly nodded their heads and stood up. They both walked up to the helicopter and got into their seats. Alyx was piloting and Gordon was riding shotgun. Before Alyx started up the engines, Isaac told them something. "Don't worry about Combine soldiers, dropships or gunships. They probably relocated back to City 17 and taken shelter in the remains of the Citadel." Isaac finished up. Alyx nodded and started up the helicopter. Then Isaac spoke up again. "Alyx…you and Gordon be careful, alright?" Isaac finished up.

"Alright." Alyx replied as she shut the cockpit door. Gordon shut his and the blades were now at full speed. Alyx and Gordon waved goodbye to Dog before the robot walked off with the two scientists that were walking out the hangar doors. Before Alyx gained altitude. She saw her father being carried off out of the hangar. She thought to herself "Dad, thanks for everything." She smiled and lifted off the ground to and started their flight to their destination: The Borealis.


	2. Chapter 2

"_We're approaching Airedale._" Chocolat Gelato announced over the intercom. Red Savarin and Elh Melizée overheard that announcement in the cabin and prepared for docking. A high paying quest was posted in Airedale so the trio decided to take up the opportunity for some big cash. Chocolat continued on the intercom "_While we're here, The Asmodeus will be refueled, so we can all take our time and just look around while we're here._" Chocolat finished. Red and Elh were sitting at the table in the cabin. Elh spoke up.

"It's a beautiful day today, isn't it, Red?" Elh said and smiled while gazing out the window nearby.

"It sure is." Red replied as he did the same thing as Elh. As they both gazed out the window, they thought of their recent journey. Their fated meeting, the battle against Lares and Bruno, Baion's and Nero's and Blanck's awakening, the awakening of Lemures as well as the reawakening of Lares, discovering Earth, the battle against Tartaros and Baion. Now all of that was behind them. They could enjoy life again. True life in the case of Elh. Red and Elh looked back at each other and both smiled. They loved seeing each other smile. It warmed their hearts. Suddenly, Elh had an idea. A tender idea.

"Red?" Elh spoke up.

"Yeah?" Red replied. Elh began to blush.

"Um…do you want to…um…sit by me?" Elh asked softly with a sweet smile. Red blushed as well and smiled back.

"I would love to." Red replied. He got his chair and moved it over right next to Elh. Red sat back down and smiled to Elh and Elh smiled back. Their faces were so warm with a deepening blush. Then Red held Elh's hand with warm tenderness. Both of their blushes deepened. Then Elh rested her head on Red's shoulder. She closed her eyes and purred. Their blushes were even brighter than before now. Red followed by leaning down and giving her a slow and deep kiss on her forehead. Elh purred again and slid her fingers through Red's. Red spoke up.

"Elh?" Red said.

"Yes, Red?" Elh replied, looking up at Red

"I never got around to telling you this, but since we met, the bond between us has gotten deeper, so I wanna say that I l…lo…love you." Red finished and pressed his lips against Elh's. Their blushes were at full brightness by now. Elh slowly closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Red's neck and Red wrapped his arms around Elh's back. They were both in a world of pure, tender bliss. They both let out a soft moan as their lips caressed each other's. They truly loved each other. They would always protect each other and would always look out for each other. They pulled away from the kiss and continued blushing. They both smiled. Elh spoke up.

"I love you too." Elh whispered.

"I'll always be there for you and I'll always love you." Red replied.

"Oh, Red." Elh said as she buried her face into his neck and purred. The intercom came back on.

"_We've now arrived in Airedale. Let's go!" _Chocolat spoke up on the intercom. Red and Elh stood up from their seats. Red gestured like a gentleman for Elh to go first.

"Ladies first." Red smiled.

"Oh, you charmer." Elh giggled, and they both walked to the exit while holding each other's hands softly.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, everything's looking in pristine condition." Alyx said as she checked the numerous panels and gauges in front of her. Alyx and Gordon have been traveling for about an hour now and things have been dead silent. Not a word. The only sounds were the constantly chopping blades overhead, the whistling of the arctic wind blasting against the nose of the helicopter, and an occasional sigh. Alyx had been downcast the entire flight, but now she seemed even more downcast than before. Gordon decided to break the silence.

"Alyx, are you alright?" Gordon asked. Alyx didn't say word.

"Alyx, I'm…I'm still sorry about your father…you know you can tell me anything that's bothering you." Gordon continued. Alyx finally said what was bothering her.

"Gordon…I…I feel like we're not living true lives." Alyx spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Gordon asked.

"This may sound weird, but during this war, what isn't weird? But it feels like someone…or something is deliberately keeping us alive." Alyx answered.

"Hm?" Gordon said.

"Think about it Gordon. We've fought the Combine longer than any other resistance member has, and we're still breathing. Any other person should be dead by now." Alyx explained. Gordon pondered on Alyx's point as he rubbed his whiskery beard.

"That's true, but who or what would want to keep us alive?" Gordon asked. He was puzzled for a few seconds, but the first person that came to his mind was that mysterious man in the blue suit; the one that put Gordon into stasis a couple of times, the one that told Alyx and Eli to "Prepare for unforeseen consequences."…could it really be that blue-suited man?

"I'm not sure who would." Alyx replied breaking Gordon's train of thought "but whoever it is sees an importance in both of us…like they need us for something." Both of them were silent for a few seconds-lost in their own seas of deep thought, until Alyx looked down to the panel checked the radar. A green dot was pulsating on the radar, which caught both Gordon's and Alyx's attention. They both looked out on the horizon and saw the faint glow of piercing industrial-grade lights. Gordon spoke up.

"Is that...?" Gordon asked as Alyx nodded her head.

"Yep, Gordon; that's the Borealis. Hang on; I'll begin the landing procedures. Alyx said as she began to slow the engine down.


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you really think this new quest will pay well?" Elh asked as she continued to hold Red's hand as they both strolled down the twisting and turning hallways of the Asmodeus, each one of their steps clinking on the metal floor reverberating of the continuous hallways.

"Of course this quest is gonna pay well. When the man called me last night, I remember him saying '5000 rings' as a reward for finishing the job. Best part is that we don't have to worry about anyone else taking the job; the man specifically assigned this job to us and no one else." Red happily explained. Elh pursed her lips and decided to ask something.

"I didn't overhear what the quest was exactly. What was it?" Elh asked as she looked up to Red with curiosity.

"Hmm…let me see if I can remember…oh yeah. The man said he wanted us to help protect his cargo airship from sky pirates. He says his cargo contains precious gems. No wonder he's paying us so high for this quest." Red explained.

"Well, there's no telling if sky pirates will attack while you're escorting the cargo. Most likely they will, but if they do, they've got a lot of trouble coming for them. I've seen you fight sky pirates before, and I know you can defeat them, Red." Elh said with a sweet smile. Red smiled back and stroked her paw with his thumb.

"Ah, here's the exit." Red said as they approached a thick, metal door. They opened it to reveal the beautiful island of Airedale. The warm rays of fresh sunlight beamed down on the duo as they walked farther out of the Asmodeus. The soft breeze was just the right temperature as it ruffled through their hair and fur. The air there smelled of sweet honey and freshly washed velvet. Airships drifted over their heads and around the island, some moving slow and some moving fast. People were walking to-and-fro, greeting each other in a friendly manner as they passed by. Small houses and buildings occupied almost every square inch of the island with some grass remaining to enjoy the soft breeze. Chocolat was waiting right outside the Asmodeus, waiting for Red and Elh obviously. Chocolat caught sight of both of them and walked up to them.

"There you two are. What was taking you two…oh?" Chocolat trailed off as she looked at what Red and Elh were still doing: holding hands. Chocolat grinned and started giggling with pleasure. She never thought the two would admit their love to each other. Chocolat's giggling trailed off as she continued. "I see how it is." Chocolat kept grinning as Red and Elh blushed and looked at the ground in embarrassment. Chocolat eventually spoke up again. "Well, that quest isn't going to accept itself, let's go." Chocolat smiled as Red and Elh nodded, still holding hands as all three of them walked to the quest broker stand where the quest broker, Flo, was working. As they walked to the quest broker stand, Red summed up Airedale in one word: beginnings. He thought of that word because Airedale seems to be the central hub of new things. Airedale was where Red's and Elh's journey started, it's where Red battled his first shade, and it's where most of the major industries of Shepherd started. In fact, most of the islands consider Airedale to be an island of new beginnings. Eventually, the three could see Flo at the quest broker stand, standing happily and brightly for potential people to accept quests. The three were walking up to Flo when an old voice caught their attention.

"Excuse me, boy, but can I see you for a second?" the old voice asked. The three turned to see an old fortune teller lady. They had seen this woman before many times in the same place. Red was hesitant to speak at first but decided to oblige.

"Um…sure." Red replied as the three walked up to the old lady. The old lady continued.

"You are the boy that saved us all from eternal darkness. I am very grateful for that achievement, but there is a fortune that I need to tell all of you very urgently." The old lady said. Red never believed in fortune telling, but decided to listen.

"Ok, I'm listening." Red replied.

The old lady closed her eyes and was silent for a few seconds. Then she started talking again with her eyes still closed.

"I see a…gigantic metallic ship…it is the size of an airship, but not an airship at all…it is a ship that floats on water." The old lady visualized. The three's eyebrows raised at the thought of this. They've never heard of a boat the size of an airship. The old lady kept visualizing. "I see…darkness…the same darkness you fought…and another type of darkness mixed into the original darkness…but fear not, for heroes from another space will be with you to ward off the mixture of darkness." The old lady opened her eyes and looked up at the three. Red didn't want to believe what he was hearing. Tartaros coming back? It couldn't be. Tartaros, along with Baion, was long gone. Red started to speak.

"Uh…well…uh-" Red started and was interrupted by Elh.

"Thank you." Elh said softly to the old woman as the old woman smiled and said "I thank you for your time, young ones." The old lady waved the three goodbye as the trio walked to Flo. Elh spoke up.

"I'm not sure I want to believe this woman." Elh said as Red and Chocolat agreed. They walked up to the quest broker stand and talked to Flo about the quest. Flo told them about the quest's location.

"You'll find this man in one of the shipyards. Well than, good luck!" Flo said as she smiled and waved goodbye to the trio. The three strolled towards one of the shipyards, enjoying the scenery and comfort of Airedale as they went to greet their client.


	5. Chapter 5

"That looks like a good spot." Alyx said as she pointed to an empty spot at the bow of the Borealis. The whole ship must've been sitting here for at least 15 years, but it looked as if it could still float if dropped into water. The deck of the ship was just a total mess. Large steel crates were scattered and occupied areas of the ship where dock workers and ship hands labored long ago. Large industrial lights pierced the arctic-like snow to exhibit the lonely steel phantom that lay in its icy shrine. The landing spot was just the right size for Alyx to land the helicopter. As Gordon and Alyx descended, hundreds of snowflakes whipped lashed around the underside of the helicopter; snowflakes silhouetted themselves against the bright lights. Finally the helicopter's wheels made contact with the cold steel of the landing spot. Alyx then powered down the engines; the blades rotating slower and slower with the descending whine of the engine powering down. Gordon and Alyx both opened the cockpit doors and were immediately blown with a constant burst of sheer icy wind. Alyx began to rub her arms for warmth. "Ugh…I should've known it would be this cold…at least you have your H.E.V suit, Gordon." Alyx said.

"Alright, let's find this cargo." Gordon said as the duo began to walk across the icy deck towards the bridge of the ship. They looked around at the crates of the ship. They were all red, but all of them bared the logo of Aperture Science. Alyx suddenly thought of something.

"Gordon, what exactly is it that we're looking for?" Alyx asked due to the fact that neither Isaac Kleiner nor Arne Magnusson told them what they were supposed to search and destroy. Gordon remained silent as he too didn't know what this machinery looked like. Alyx sighed "Well, that's just great. Our target could be anywhere on this ship."

"I have a hunch that what we're looking for is in the bridge area of the ship, so let's go." Gordon said as he gestured towards the bridge. They resumed walking past the monotonous crates that the ship has carried silently for so long. Suddenly, the duo heard clanking on the side of the ship. They quickly turned their heads in the direction of the noise. The clanking was rhythmic, like something was climbing up the side. The duo were now fully alert and ready to fight whatever was climbing up the side of the ship as Gordon pulled out his crowbar and Alyx pulled out her pistol. Eventually the clanking reached the top. Gordon and Alyx were just about to attack when they realized that who they saw was a face they knew. A face that they both loved to see. It was Dog.

"Dog!" Alyx exclaimed as she ran over to Dog and hugged him tightly. Dog hugged back, happy to see reunited with Alyx and Gordon again. "Dog, how did you get here, boy?...ah, never mind. Sometimes I just don't understand how you get from place to place." Alyx chuckled as she rubbed Dog's head while Dog made a happy sound. Dog them immediately ran up to Gordon and pulled him into a big hug. Gordon began chuckling.

"It's good to see you too, boy." Gordon said as Dog put Gordon down. Gordon cleared his throat. "Well then, shall we?" Gordon gestured to the bridge once again and the trio entered the bridge's main entrance and shut the door behind them so the icy blast can cease to impact their backs. The main part of the bridge was a few stories above the deck level of the ship, so the trio would have to climb some flights of stairs eventually. The trio slowly strolled through the lonely steel hallways of the Borealis, noticing that some doors were open, as if somebody was here recently. Suddenly, they heard the shattering of glass in a nearby room. They turned their heads to one of the nearby open doors. Gordon and Alyx pulled out their weapons again and Gordon gestured to the open door. They walked in front of the open doorway and saw what might have been a kitchen. Tables and stoves were lined across the room like any kitchen would. It was dark except for the faint light of the outside industrial light on the deck. They looked at the ground 5 feet in front of them and saw a shattered jar. They slowly walked up to the shattered jar, awaiting anything that would likely attack them. They looked down and observed the shattered jar. No sooner than they started observing that a figure jumped out behind a nearby table and yelled "Gotcha!". The figure was aiming something at the trio. It was a pistol. The trio was just about to attack when the figure said "Wait a second…". The figure turned on a flashlight and shined it on the trio. The figure gasped and then started chuckling. The trio suddenly recognized that voice. It was a familiar Lambda resistance member. A former Black Mesa security guard. It was Barney Calhoun. Barney then shone the flashlight on his face. His usually ruffled jet-black hair was even more ruffled. "Well waddya know? I didn't expect you find you three here." Barney chuckled again. Alyx let out a sigh of relief and joy.

"Barney, it's so great to see you here." Alyx said as she hugged Barney just like Dog.

"It great to see you too, Alyx. And Gordon, how've ya been ya dog?" Barney said.

"I've been…satisfactory. And you?" Gordon replied to Barney.

"Well, you're probably wondering why I'm on this icy hunk of junk. I saw the transmission from Judith in a secluded area where the Combine couldn't track me. I decoded the message and saw the Borealis, so I had a hunch you guys would come here too." Barney smiled and continued "So how's everything at White Forest?" Barney asked. Gordon and Alyx frowned thinking of the recent accident of Eli. Gordon spoke up.

"Um…Barney…I hate to tell you this…but Eli's been…he's been …killed." Gordon said as he looked down at the ground. Barney gasped.

"No…" Barney said, having practically the same reactions as Isaac Kleiner and Arne Magnusson. Barney turned to Alyx "Alyx…I'm…I'm sorry about your loss." Barney said as Alyx weakly smiled and said

"It's okay; he's in a better place now." Alyx said.

"Well, that's true." Barney replied. Barney then turned to Dog. "Hey there, big guy. How've ya been?" Barney said as Dog made another happy sound. Gordon spoke up again.

"Well, we better find this target." Gordon spoke up as the rest of them followed Gordon out of the room and into the long hallway. Everything was still quiet. They would pass a few windows here and there and would see nothing but snow and ice. Suddenly, something didn't feel right. Their torsos started to feel compressed. Gordon spoke up about it.

"Do you guys feel like you chest is being compressed?" Gordon asked. Alyx answered.

"Yeah, it does." Alyx replied as she clutched her chest like Gordon and Barney. Barney answered.

"Yeah, same here." Barney said as the compression got tighter and tighter. Soon it felt like their whole bodies were becoming compressed. Even Dog felt the compression. Soon their visions were becoming white. Alyx spoke up.

"Gordon, what's…happening?" Alyx grunted as they all fell to their knees still clutching their chests.

"I'm not sure, but I think we should hang on to something." Gordon replied as all of their visions were a blinding white and everything around them was violently shaking like an earthquake. To the four, it felt like an apocalypse of some kind. Then silence. Their visions slowly returned to normal. Alyx, Barney, and Dog remained on the floor as Gordon slowly got up and looked out the nearby window. If Gordon hadn't been in control of his stomach at the time, he would've vomited at the sight he was seeing. He was looking out at Xen. He was in the dreaded border world again. Then something caught Gordon's eye at a nearby island. He didn't know if he was hallucinating, but he thought he saw 2 figures-2 human figures-standing in front of each other. They were silhouetted and looked like they were talking and nodding their heads. They were just about to shake hands when the compressions started up again. Gordon and the other four clutched their chests again as Gordon got a look at the figures. They were staring at Gordon. Then the white light blinded the four yet again as the ship violently shook as if in an earthquake. Then silence again. All of their visions returned as Alyx, Barney, and Dog were still on the floor and Gordon looked out the window again. Now Gordon had no idea where he was. From the looks of it they were in the middle of a lake surrounded by very tall trees and what appeared to be giant lily pad-type plants sitting on the water. Gordon then fell back and went into a blackout. Gordon had one question on his mind: Was this another Black Mesa?


	6. Chapter 6

"So, where's our client?" Elh asked Red curiously.

"Flo said that our client is at the northern shipyard. Flo said that his name is Francis. This guy must be pretty desperate to pay us 5000 rings for this quest. Flo said that this guy's destination is Pharaoh." Red replied. Chocolat chimed in.

"You know, Red, with that cash, I think that we'll eventually get a TV." Chocolat smiled.

"It would be so great if we had a TV, right Elh?" Red said.

"It sure would!" Elh replied happily. The trio continued walking up to the northern shipyard. They saw some familiar faces as they strolled, and then they saw Quynne; the man who watches Shepherd through his telescope. As the trio was walking by Quynne, he turned around and saw the trio. He got up from his seat and walked up to the trio.

"Hey you three, how've you been? How's that book been working out for you?" Quynne asked. They turned to him and Red spoke up.

"We've been good. We've been relaxing after that whole incident a while ago. And the book is great." Red replied.

"That's nice. Hey, can I talk to you three for a second?" Quynne asked. Red raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, sure." Red replied.

"You've seen me look out on the horizon of Shepherd for a while now, but I feel that something good and something bad is approaching from another horizon." Quynne explained. Now the trio knew something odd was going on. The fortune teller lady predicted something, now Quynne was predicting something. Red replied.

"Oh, well, thanks…well, we gotta go do a quest. The client's over there at the northern shipyard." Red replied as he pointed up to the nearby shipyard. Quynne looked over in the direction of the shipyard.

"Oh, well good luck then." Quynne replied with a smile and waved them goodbye and the trio waved back. The trio got to the shipyard and saw a man standing in the center of the shipyard. Red turned to Elh and Chocolat.

"That has to be Francis." Red said to the girls.

"Let's go talk to him." Elh said. They walked up to Francis as he turned his head to the trio.

"Oh, you must be here about my pirate problem." Francis said. Red smiled.

"Yes we are." Red nodded.

"Oh, thank you so much for accepting my request. I've been so on edge. I was afraid that no one would be brave enough to accept my request." Francis explained.

"Don't you worry! We'll make sure you cargo gets to its destination in one piece." Red replied. Elh and Chocolat nodded with a smile.

"Oh, thank you!" Francis thanked again. "If you're ready, let me know."

"Oh, we're ready!" Red chimed. Red got onto the deck of the ship while Elh, Chocolat, and Francis went into the cabin of the ship. They took off into the blue skies on their way to Pharaoh. Everything was peaceful for a while, but then sky pirates appeared. It was the Clappers, headed by Flognarde. Like any sky pirate would, they began attacking, but no matter how many missiles the pirates fired, Red threw back every one of them. In the Clapper ship, members were scrambling to-and-fro to fix everything they could. Flognarde looked around and growled.

"Grr…Keep firing! We are not losing that cargo!" Flognarde exclaimed. A Clapper member scurried up to Flognarde.

"Sir, our engines are going out! We're losing altitude! We have to abandon ship!" The Clapper member exclaimed. Flognarde was silent for a few seconds, but had to give up.

"Bah…You win this time, kid!" Flognarde shouted as the sky pirate ship began losing altitude. Red smiled as he watched the Clappers ship sink until it was out of sight.

"Yahoo!" Red cheered. The three in the cabin praised Re's heroism.

"Red, that was amazing!" Chocolat exclaimed, praising her big brother.

"You did great, Red!" Elh cheered.

"That was spectacular!" Francis exclaimed. Francis walked over to the cockpit panels. "We're approaching Pharaoh, so no more sky pirates to bother us." Francis smiled. They landed in the majestic capital city of Pharaoh. The hustle and bustle of Pharaoh was more than twice the hustle and bustle of Airedale. More airships zoomed and soared by. The city of Pharaoh is also well known for its train system. After Francis' company that he worked for was done unloading the cargo. He came up to the trio. "Well, I'd better give you three a ride back to Airedale, and as for the sky pirates, they won't bother us since we're not carrying any cargo." Francis explained. They all got back to Airedale after another thrilling quest. The trio thanked Francis for taking them back to Airedale and the trio went to Flo to get their reward money. They got every single ring of the 5000 rings they were rewarded. The trio smiled at the fruit of their labors as they walked back to the Asmodeus. Red spoke up.

"That was great, right?" Red smiled.

"It sure was." Chocolat replied.

"Mm-hm" Elh nodded. As they continued to walk back to the Asmodeus, Suddenly, Elh screamed and fell to her knees. Red and Chocolat quickly turned around.

"Elh! are you alright?" Red exclaimed. The symbol that would appear when Elh was performing a spell had appeared on her forehead. She pressed her paw against her forehead in pain.

"Red! The…the Nono…it's…never reacted this violently before…ever!" Elh exclaimed. Suddenly, off in the distance on one of the islands, a beam of white light blasted into the sky from an island. All three of them turned to see the strange beam. The beam went on for a few more seconds, and then died down. The symbol on Elh's forehead disappeared. Elh released her paw from her forehead and was panting. Red and Chocolat immediately checked to see if Elh was okay.

"Elh, are you okay now?" Red asked with deep care.

"Yeah, I'm okay now. I think I need to lie down for a minute." Elh said as Red had an idea.

"Here, you can relax in my arms." Red held out his arms blushed as Elh smiled and blushed as well. Elh happily crawled into Red's warm arms as they both smiled and blushed. Chocolat giggled.

"Aww! You two look so cute together." Chocolat smiled. Red and Elh both blushed brighter. Red spoke up.

"Well, let's go back into the Asmodeus." Red said as he carried Elh in his arms and Chocolat walked right beside Red. When they got inside, they walked to the cabin and sat at the table. They discussed what happened concerning the strange beam. Elh talked about the intensity of the Nono.

"In all of my 300 years, the Nono has never reacted that violently, not even when Lares, Lemures, and Tartaros attacked." Elh said as Red discussed the location of the beam.

"Hmm…did you notice where that beam was coming from? It looked like it came from Vizsla." Red explained. Chocolat discussed about the predictions.

"I think that fortune teller and Quynne were right. Something is coming." Chocolat explained. Red spoke up.

"Do you think we should check what happened?" Red asked. Chocolat smiled.

"Well, we've done dangerous things, and I think this will be no problem." Chocolat said. Red and Elh smiled.

"Alright! Our next destination is Vizsla!" Red chimed.

"Okay! I'll go start up the engines." Chocolat smiled as she walked off to the cockpit. Elh suddenly thought of a theory.

"Red, I just thought of something."

"What is it, Elh?"

"Remember that there's a whirlzone in Vizsla?"

"You're right…that beam must've been related to the whirlzone…do you think it's Tartaros or the Titano-Machina?"

"No. this felt different. Much different."

The engines of the Asmodeus started as the trio soared to Vizsla to examine the cause of the beam.


	7. Chapter 7

Gordon's eyes snapped open as he wondered how long he'd been blacked-out. He slowly breathed the stale yet acceptable air of the Borealis and gazed at the pipes sprawling across the ceiling above him. He slowly got up on his hands and knees and looked around. He saw Alyx, Barney, and Dog sluggishly trying to get up as well.

"Is everyone alright?" Gordon asked. Alyx was the first to speak.

"I've been better." Alyx replied as she rubbed her head. Gordon turned to Barney.

"How 'bout you, Barney?" Gordon asked

"Same answer as Alyx." Barney chuckled. Gordon turned to Dog.

"And you, Dog?" Gordon asked. Dog nodded his head. Suddenly, Gordon remembered what he saw out the window just before he blacked-out. By now, everyone was on their feet, and Gordon walked over to the window that he peered out of before. Gordon's eyes shot wide open and his jaw slightly hung down as his eyes were telling him the truth. He was in a different world. He could tell he wasn't on Earth and obviously not on Xen. Alyx noticed Gordon's shocked expression.

"Gordon, what's wrong." Alyx asked as Gordon turned to the other three.

"Take a look for yourself." Gordon gestured at the window. The other three walked over to the window and peered out on what Gordon was seeing. They too were surprised at where they were. A lake covered with gigantic lily pads all surrounded by extremely tall trees with tree tops that soared high above their heads. Judging by their observations, they knew for sure that they were in another world. A lily pad on Earth never grew to such an incredible size such as the lily pads they were viewing. Barney spoke up first.

"Wow! This is incredible!" Barney exclaimed. Alyx spoke up next.

"Amazing!" Alyx admired as she suddenly realized something important about the Borealis. "Of course! It all makes sense now! It appears that the project that Judith was talking about that's on this ship has caused the ship itself to go into a dimensional flux. That's how the Borealis disappeared in the first place, and now it's teleported again with us onboard…well, at least the Borealis is still able to float." Alyx finished as she looked out the window again. Gordon rubbed his chin.

"This must be why the Combine might've wanted to get their hands on the Borealis: to have another way to connect to their home world since we closed their super portal." Gordon replied.

"Exactly." Alyx replied. Barney looked out the window again.

"Hey you two, waddya say we go outside and check out this new world?" Barney said with a smile. Alyx looked out the window again.

"Well, everything seems fine out there, so sure, let's go!" Alyx replied. They all walked down the same hallway they entered earlier and approached the door. They pushed it open and a warm breeze brushed their faces. The air smelled sweet and the water looked like glistening liquid crystals. They slowly strolled across the Borealis' deck, noticing the crates that were sprawled all over the deck and read 'Aperture Science' were still standing. They all gazed around at the trees and admired the beauty around them. Gordon remembered about the large lily pads that surrounded the Borealis and thought about getting a better look of the area. Gordon walked over to the edge of the deck and peered over the side. A lily pad stood on the water and was right next to the ship. Gordon looked down at the deck and saw a rock. He picked it up and dropped the rock over the edge of the deck. The rock simply bounced on the lily pad, leaving the lily pad without a scratch. Gordon turned to the three.

"These lily pads look sturdy enough to jump on so we can get a better look around, so let's get on one." Gordon explained. The trio nodded and all walked to the side of the deck where Gordon was. The drop looked moderate from the deck to the lily pad, yet the lily pad did look pretty sturdy to withstand a moderate impact and looked spongy enough to impact at a comfortable force. Gordon hopped over the edge and fell then landed on the lily pad. The landing was pretty comfortable for Gordon. Water rippled away from the lily pad as the lily pad bobbed from Gordon's landing. Soon the bobbing stopped and Gordon looked up to the trio still on the deck. "I'm just fine. It's safe to jump." Gordon called to the trio above him. Alyx followed the same pattern that Gordon did: jump off the deck, fall comfortably on the lily pad, bob up and down, and look up at the remaining group. Barney followed.

"!" Barney shouted as he landed on the lily pad laughing heartily. Then they all looked up at Dog, remembering that he was heavier than the rest of them combined. "Do you think this lily pad will hold Dog?" Barney asked. Alyx replied.

"If this lily pad is holding us right now, it should hold Dog." Alyx replied as Dog jumped off the side and made a euphoric robotic sound, as if he was trying to copy Barney. He impacted the lily pad; higher ripples flowed from the lily pad and the lily pad bobbed up and down more than the previous three jumping on. The lily pad's bobbing smoothed out as they all looked at each other and chuckled lightly. Alyx then turned to Dog and smiled.

"At least you're waterproof, boy." Alyx said to Dog as Dog replied with a happy robotic sound. Alyx smiled and then turned to Gordon. "Well then, shall we?" Alyx said, mimicking what Gordon said while they were on the Borealis in the arctic snow. Gordon chuckled. Just as the trio took a few steps, they heard deep buzzing that was getting louder. They all looked in the direction of the buzzing and Alyx spoke up.

"What…What is that?" Alyx questioned as the buzzing was very close now.

"That doesn't sound like a Combine gunship." Barney said as the buzzing finally showed itself. It was a giant flying bug that was approaching them. What the group also saw was a group riding on the back of the bug, but this group looked different. As the bug got closer, the Borealis group got a good view of the group riding on the bug's back. The group was an anthropomorphic cat and 2 anthropomorphic dogs. The Borealis group could see that the group on the bug's back was shocked at the sight of the Borealis group. The giant bug landed on an adjacent lily pad that was connected to the Borealis group's lily pad. The group on the bug's back got off the bug's back. The bug folded its wing in and silently sat there. The Borealis group now got a detailed look at the group of 3. The cat was a female who looked 14 years old. She had lengthy white hair. The first dog was another female who looked 13 years old. She had long pink hair that flowed past her shoulders. The second dog was a male who looked 17 years old. What intrigued the Borealis group was that the male dog was commandeering a robot that was about the size of Dog. The robot was mostly white with the pilot's seat on the top of the robot. Each group gazed in amazement at each other, and then Gordon took a step forward and decided to introduce themselves.

"Um…hello." Gordon spoke up. The male dog took a step forward as well.

"Um…hi." The male dog replied. Little did each group know that they were in for a huge journey.


	8. Chapter 8

The intercom clicked on and Chocolat announced as Red and Elh sat at the table in the cabin.

"We're almost at Vizsla so hang on tight." Chocolat announced. The intercom clicked off leaving Red and Elh to discuss the current situation. Red spoke up.

"So Elh, you say that this isn't the Titano-Machina that we're dealing with?" Red asked.

"I'm sure of it. I remember the feeling of when the Nono reacted around the Titano-Machina, but the feeling that happened when that white beam shot into the sky, it felt so much different. I knew immediately that this is something much, much different." Elh replied as Red's eyebrows rose, then Red remembered what the fortune teller lady and Quynne warned about. Red thought about what the fortune teller saw and Quynne's warning of possible danger. If there was going to be danger, would it be worse than the Titano-Machina? The intercom clicked on again and Chocolat spoke up.

"Ok, we're now in Vizsla." Chocolat announced. All three of them exited the Asmodeus to find the residents of Vizsla scrambling around in distress and commotion because of the white beam. Red spoke up.

"So now what?" Red asked. Chocolat pursed her lips.

"Well, if that white beam came from the whirlzone here, then we should go to Dahmon and see if we can ride on his Ladyshroom." Chocolat explained. Elh grunted a little at the thought of riding those bugs again. Elh never really like Vizsla due to the fact that most of the population on Vizsla was insects, which Elh hated. Red noticed that Elh was distressed, so he held her paw. Elh blushed at the feel Red's warm and tender paw. Elh looked up to Red and smiled. Red replied with a smile as well.

"Don't worry, Elh. I'll be with you." Red said. Elh smiled and hugged Red with warm affection, knowing that Red will always be there to chase away her fears. Chocolat noticed the hug and "awwwwwwwwww"ed. Elh spoke up.

"Okay, let's go." Elh said. The trio shuffled and scooted around bystanders that were still clamoring. The trio made it to Dahmon who was standing on the dock where he tends to his Ladyshroom. Red got Dahmon's attention.

"Hey, Dahmon." Red spoke up. Dahmon turned to the trio and smiled.

"Why hello there, eh?" Dahmon replied. Chocolat walked forward.

"Hey Dahmon, we were wondering if we can borrow your Ladyshroom to see what that white beam was." Chocolat said. Dahmon thought about it for a second.

"Well, sure. You all saved us from those giants, so I can trust you with investigating that mysterious white beam, eh?" Dahmon replied. The trio climbed aboard the Ladyshroom's back, and Dahmon spoke up. "You three be careful, eh?" Red smiled.

"Don't worry, we'll be alright!" Red replied as the Ladyshroom took off to the location of the whirlzone. Eventually, the trio made it to the thick part of Vizsla. Elh remembered that this was where the highest population of insects was. She held Red's paw and Red began to stroke Elh's paw with his thumb. Elh hugged Red, which Red was happy to accept happy to comfort Elh. Suddenly, even through the buzzing of the Ladyshroom's wings, the trio heard what sounded like shouting.

"!" A voice shouted from the direction of the whirlzone. Elh was the first to speak up about the shout.

"Wh…what was that?" Elh asked. Red replied.

"Sounds like someone…" Red replied. The trio knew they were very close to their destination. The trio finally made it to the clearing where the whirlzone was. What they saw astonished them completely. They saw a giant boat, bigger than any boat they have ever seen, that was made of metal and the size of an airship. It was just like to fortune teller lady said. Elh spoke up, then Chocolat, then Red.

"In…Incredible!" Elh exclaimed.

"It's…amazing!" Chocolat exclaimed.

"Wow!" Red exclaimed. The trio caught sight of 4 figures on a lily pad on the water next to the ship. As the trio got closer, they were even more astonished as the 3 of the 4 figures were creatures that should've been extinct long ago. They were humans. There were 2 males and 1 female. The first male looked 27 years old. He had short brown hair, glasses, and a whiskery beard-mustache combo. He was wearing a strange orange and gray metallic suit with a symbol in the center of the chest. The next male looked around the first male's age and he had ruffled jet-black hair. The female looked about the same age as the males and she had short brown hair. The fourth figure was a large robot that was a little smaller than Dahak. The Ladyshroom descended to a lily pad next to the lily pad where the humans and robot stood. The trio stepped off the Ladyshroom's back and the Ladyshroom folded its wings in. The man in the orange and black suit took a step forward and spoke up.

"Um…hello." The male spoke up. Red took a step forward as well.

"Um…hi." Red replied.


	9. Chapter 9

Both groups stared at each other with wide eyes. Both groups have seen their share of extraordinary things, the Borealis group with the Resonance Cascade, the invading forces of Xen wildlife and the Combine, and the Asmodeus group with the Titano-Machina and the Futzu Tower that remained on Earth and the Junos, but now both groups were completely astonished; the Asmodeus group astonished of the humans and the Borealis group astonished of the anthropomorphic cat and dogs. Red hopped off of Dahak and spoke up.

"Um…my name is Red Savarin." Red spoke to Gordon. Gordon cleared his throat.

"Um…My name is Gordon Freeman." Gordon replied.

"Ok, but tell me…how can you be here?" Red suddenly exclaimed. Gordon raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Gordon asked.

"What I mean is that humans were wiped out long ago." Red replied as Gordon, Alyx and Barney all flinched. Alyx spoke up.

"Humans wiped out? But how?" Alyx replied shocked. Barney spoke next.

"Unless…do you think it might be related to the Combine?" Barney replied. Alyx answered.

"I'm not sure…" Alyx replied. Elh raised an eyebrow.

"Combine?" Elh asked curiously. Gordon replied.

"Oh, we'll tell you what they are. First let's introduce ourselves." Gordon said and pointed to Alyx and then Barney. "This is Alyx Vance and Barney Calhoun." Gordon said. Alyx and Barney both said "Hi" simultaneously with a smile. Red, Chocolat and Elh replied "Hello" with a smile as well. Red spoke up and pointed to Elh and Chocolat.

"This is Elh Melizée and Chocolat Gelato." Red said as Elh and Chocolat smiled and said "Hello". The Borealis replied with "Hi" and a smile.

Chocolat glanced at the bulky robot that stood behind the humans.

"What kind of robot is that? I've never seen one like that before." Chocolat asked, intrigued by the sight of Dog. Alyx replied.

"Of course. How could we forget? This is Dog. He's a robot that my father created to protect me. His original model was about yay high." Alyx positioned her hand about 2 feet off the ground and continued to explain "I've been adding on to him ever since." Alyx finished and noticed Dahak. "I see you three have a robot of your own." Alyx said with a smile. Red smiled back.

"Yep! This is Dahak Mk. 2! Dahak has been with me since I was a boy. I control Dahak from the cockpit that you saw me sitting in. Dahak has many functions, but the function that I mostly use with Dahak lifting and throwing heavy objects." Red explained. Alyx looked at Dog.

"You can also lift heavy and throw heavy objects boy." Alyx said to Dog with a smile. Dog started bouncing happily and making a robotic laughing sound. Elh spoke up.

"So where did you all come from?" Elh asked. Gordon replied.

"We came from a parallel dimension through this ship behind me. The ship's name is the Borealis." Gordon explained and Elh spoke again.

"A beautiful name for a ship, and you said you came from a parallel dimension? So you and the Borealis must've gotten here through the whirlzone here." Elh said. The Borealis group was curious now about what a whirlzone is and their current location. Barney spoke up.

"Whirlzone?...and where exactly is 'here'"? Barney asked. Chocolat replied.

"Here, let's go back to our airship and we can exchange each other's information." Chocolat smiled. The Borealis group replied with "Alright". Red got back on Dahak. The Asmodeus group walked up to the Ladyshroom and the Ladyshroom opened its wings for its passengers. The Asmodeus group looked at the Borealis group and noticed the humans were hesitant about getting on a giant bug. Chocolat giggled.

"Don't worry, it's a Ladyshroom. It won't hurt you." Chocolat explained with a smile. The Borealis group started walking up to the Ladyshroom when Alyx interrupted.

"Wait, what about the Borealis? Won't someone find it?" Alyx asked. Chocolat replied.

"Don't worry about that. This area is in a deep part of the forest here, so no one will bother coming here." Chocolat explained. The Borealis group nodded and walked onto the Ladyshroom's back. The Ladyshroom started increasing the speed of its wings and soon took off from the ground on their way to the Asmodeus.


	10. Chapter 10

The Ladyshroom continued to soar around the giant trees as the whole group on its back waited to be dropped off at their destination. Gordon, Alyx and Barney were still curious about this new world. Gordon spoke up.

"Red, can you tell us about this world? We obviously haven't seen what it looks like outside of this forest yet." Gordon said as a smile grew of Red's muzzle.

"Well prepare to be amazed Gordon, Alyx, Barney and Dog because we're just about to leave the forest!" Red smiled as light began to shine in the path in front of them. The light got brighter and brighter with the Borealis group eager to see what was outside of the forest. They finally exited the forest to reveal a new and beautiful sight to the Borealis group. The Borealis group thought they were on a solid planet, but that was technically true; the Borealis group found themselves to be in the sky above a sea of clouds, and what they thought was a solid planet was actually a large island that was floating high above the sea of clouds. Many more islands, large and small, surrounded them short and far distances. The Borealis group dropped their jaws, except for Dog who made a shocked sound, and gazed around them at the many islands. Red turned to the Borealis group and grinned. "Welcome to Shepherd! Whaddya think?" Red grinned. Gordon then Alyx and Barney spoke up.

"This…is truly incredible!" Gordon exclaimed.

"It's all so beautiful!" Alyx admired.

"Well I'll be!" Barney smiled. Red, Elh and Chocolat continued smiling, finding amusement in the humans' reaction to Shepherd. Red realized that they were approaching the landing place where Dahmon is.

"Alright, we're approaching the landing spot, now the people here aren't used to seeing you, so they'll most likely be in shock at the sight of you four." Red explained. The Borealis group nodded as the Ladyshroom landed next to the dock where Dahmon was still standing. Dahmon noticed the whole group getting off the Ladyshroom.

"Ah, so did you fin out what tha…wha?" Dahmon trailed off as he noticed another group coming off the Ladyshroom's back. Dahmon's eyes shot wide open at the sight of these new creatures. Dahmon knew that these new people were definitely not Caninu nor Felineko. Dahmon jumped back.

"WHO…WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE?" Dahmon exclaimed as Red walked Dahak up to Dahmon.

"It's okay, calm down Dahmon. They're friendly." Red said trying to calm Dahmon down. Dahmon did calm down, but still stared at the new ones.

"So…I guess I now know what that while beam was and what you found down there as well, eh?" Dahmon said, not taking his eyes off the new ones for one second. Red chuckled.

"Yeah, well Dahmon we really should be heading back to the Asmodeus." Red said. Dahmon replied, still fixated on the creatures.

"Um…okay." Dahmon simply replied. The whole started walking towards the Asmodeus. As they walked, everyone, EVERYONE, caught sight of the new group. Most people gasped while the more fragile started screaming and running away in fear. Eventually, they made it to the Asmodeus. Red turned to the Borealis group.

"This is the Asmodeus. It's our airship and our home. We use it to get form island to island." Red smiled as the Borealis group once again marveled. Again, Gordon, Alyx then Barney spoke up.

"What a fascinating mode of transportation you have." Gordon observed.

"What an amazing design!" Alyx said.

"Way better than the junk we have back in our world." Barney said. The whole group walked up to the Asmodeus' entrance and exit, opened the door, entered, and then closed the door again. Red first got off of Dahak, and then they continued walking. They eventually reached the cabin. The cozy little cabin made the Borealis group feel relaxed and peaceful. Elh spoke up.

"Now that we're here, let's sit down and we'll discuss each other's lives." Elh said. The Asmodeus group and Gordon sat down at the table while Alyx and Barney sat down on a nearby bed and Dog sat on the floor. Red spoke up first.

"I guess I'll start. The group of islands you all saw is called The Shepherd Republic. The island you were on back there where we found you is called Vizsla. People get from island to island by using airships and airplanes. Each major island is populated and has its own name, its own government and floats above the Cloud Sea. The Cloud Sea is dangerous because it is filled with deadly plasma that can kill anyone that passes through it. Back to the islands, some islands are known for certain specialties. For example, the capital of Shepherd, Pharaoh, is well known for its train system. The most well know type of job here in Shepherd is being a Hunter." Red said as the Borealis group slightly flinched at the sound of the word 'Hunter'. The first thing that came to the Borealis group's mind was Combine Hunters. They despised those agile freaks. Gordon remembered how it took so many double-barreled shotgun rounds to kill them and also considering that they almost killed…Gordon again pushed the horrible thought out of his mind and continued to listen to Red. "Hunters take up jobs called 'quests'. These quests can be something big like protecting cargo or it can be something small like babysitting. In the end, the Hunter gets paid. Hunters can go alone, but most Hunters join guilds. Hunter's guilds are a large group of Hunters, the biggest guild being the Kurvaz, which we are friends with. Personally, I'm a Hunter, but I decided not to be part of a guild. As for the biggest part of our lives, it started when Chocolat and I were on a quest to get on a ship called the Hindenburg and steal an important document. Instead of a document, I found a strange medallion. I took it and as soon as I took it, the whole ship began to shake violently. I quickly ran out and on my way, destiny went into effect; I saw Elh passed out. I tried to wake her up, but she was out cold. We eventually escaped and…" Red continued on, covering the Shade attack, the learning of Lares, fighting Bruno, the leader of Kurvaz, and the rest of Kurvaz to get the Crystal Stones, the Rite of Forfeit, entering Lares, then a particular interesting part arose: Red discussed when he went into Trance form. Red continued with defeating Bruno and shutting down Lares, or so they thought. Red continued about Nero's and Blanck's attack on Pharaoh and the reappearing of Lares and appearance of Lemures, finding out about Baion, finding out about Earth below the Cloud Sea. Gordon suddenly interrupted.

"Hold on…Are you saying that Earth used to be under the Cloud Sea?" Gordon asked. Red nodded. Gordon turned to Alyx and Barney with wide eyes then turned back to Red. "We're from Earth." Gordon said. The Asmodeus group's eyes shot open. Red spoke up.

"Wow! You're all really from Earth? Amazing! I've seen pictures of what used to be Earth: huge buildings that were light up at night and more stuff that was similar to the stuff in Shepherd. Is it really like that?" Red asked curiously. Gordon was silent for a second as he thought of that question. Earth used to be like that until…Gordon couldn't bear to remember that horrible incident in the test chamber. If he hadn't pushed that crystal into the beam…Gordon immediately pushed it out of his mind and replied.

"Kinda, but keep explaining your side of the story." Gordon said and Red nodded. Red continued with the discovery of the way to get to Earth by getting the fragments of the Divine Flute and calling the guardian that can swim past the Cloud Sea and down to Earth, finally calling the guardian and swimming past the Cloud Sea and going to the last building of Earth which was the Futzu Tower, finding Yurlungur, finding out about the Junos and how the human race perished by the Reset command. Now the Borealis group was curious. Were these Junos and the Reset command related to the Combine? Did the Combine already ravish this world before the Reset command was initiated? Red continued with finding out that Baion planned to initiate Operation CODA, Tartaros' coming, finding out about Re-CODA, finding out that Red's a hybrid created in a laboratory, the summoning of Tartaros, the Order that almost corrupted Red, the battle into Tartaros done by Red alone, Red defeating Baion and Red escaping Tartaros before Tartaros returned to its dimension with Baion still inside. Red finished up.

"Well, after all of the adventure, we're back to our normal lives." Red smiled. The Borealis group's jaws were hung wide open. Red's story intrigued them very much. Of course the Borealis group has seen many extraordinary events in their lives like the Black Mesa Incident and the Seven Hours War, but Red tale was even more astounding that anything they've ever heard. Gordon spoke up.

"What a spectacular journey you've had! Well, here's our story. I was what was called a theoretical physicist. I worked in a research facility called Black Mesa. I was going on my usual work day, going to the locker room and getting this suit I'm wearing, called the H.E.V. suit, and going to a test chamber to put a crystal sample into what was called the Anti-Mass Spectrometer. I pushed the crystal into the beam, but…" Gordon explained the Resonance Cascade, his fight for survival against the forces of Xen and the H.E.C.U., escape to the Lambda Complex, finding out about a massive entity in Xen that kept the portal open, traveling through the Lambda Complex portal and arriving at Xen, hearing strange telepathic voices, finally arriving in a huge cave where a giant floating creature called the Nihilanth was and Gordon destroyed. Gordon skipped the part with the G-Man and simply said he was put into stasis, eventually waking up from stasis, discovering he's in City 17, meets Alyx, Barney, Isaac Kleiner and Lamarr, heading to Black Mesa East, meeting Eli Vance and Judith Mossman, Gordon finding out that the original administrator of Black Mesa, Wallace Breen, was now in charge of the Combine's hold of Earth, running through the war-torn City 17 to get to the Citadel, finding Alyx, Eli, Breen and Judith, Gordon defeating Breen before he could escape, another stasis, waking up from stasis, going inside the collapsing Citadel to delay the dark fusion reaction, trying to escape City 17 but with the explosion of the Citadel finally catching up to Gordon and Alyx, running to the White Forest base to get to the missile that Isaac Kleiner, Eli Vance, and a new face, Arne Magnusson, were going to launch to close the Combine super portal, then the disturbing part for Gordon: Alyx being stabbed by a Combine Hunter, eventually healing Alyx and going to White Forest, arriving at the White Forest base and stopping the Combine Striders and Hunters from reaching the missile silo that held the missile that would close the Combine super portal, launching the missile, closing the portal, going to the hangar to go to the Borealis, being ambushed by Combine Advisors, Eli being killed, going to the Borealis, and teleporting to Vizsla. Gordon spoke up.

"And here we are now." Gordon smiled. The Asmodeus group's jaws hung open, mirroring the same expression that the Borealis group had. The Asmodeus group was fascinated and also shocked at the same time. They were amazed at the story Gordon told, but also shocked that the Earth the Borealis group came from was nothing like the Asmodeus group thought it would be like. Suddenly, Chocolat had an idea.

"Hey, how about we go to the Golden Roar? I'd love to see Kurvaz's expressions when they see you four." Chocolat giggled. Alyx spoke up.

"Sounds good. Let's go!" Alyx replied as Chocolat ran to the control room and started up the engines, on their way to the Golden Roar.


	11. Chapter 11

Subject: Adrian Shephard

Gender: Male

Age: 22

Occupation: United States Marines Corps, H.E.C.U.

Rank: Corporal

Status: In stasis

Enemies fought: Xen wildlife, Race X wildlife, Black-Ops

Adrian's eyes snapped open as a wall of bright light opened upwards, clashing against the rest of the darkness that surrounded him. The wall of light was the size of a door and out of the door came that man. That strange, pale man in the blue suit who Adrian met after defeating the Gene Worm in the Black Mesa Sewage Processing. The man walked up to Adrian and the white wall behind the man closed downwards leaving the two isolated in the dark void in which they were standing. The man spoke up.

"Well, Corporal Shephard, I understand that you may have many questions on your mind concerning who I am or why I pulled you out of stasis. These questions will be answered." The man explained. This man's voice was just like Adrian remembered after defeating the Gene Worm. The man's voice was like a desert: old and dry. Adrian spoke up behind his mask.

"I don't know who you are or what's going on here, but I know I DO want explanations. Who are you?" Adrian asked. The man smirked.

"I am merely…someone who wants to ensure your survival, which is why I made the choice of putting you in stasis." The man replied. Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"And that's another thing; what's this stasis you put me in?" Adrian asked.

"It is a location, you could say, that I chose in case you were needed again. And on the topic, I have wakened you from your stasis because you will be needed for the task I will assign you. You will face…unforeseen consequences like a certain…individual that you most likely may be aware of." The man explained. Adrian cocked his head.

"Wait…what task? What do you mean by 'unforeseen consequences'?" Adrian asked with many questions, but the same wall of light as before rose up for the man to enter once again. The man started walking back into the white light from which he came from when he immediately stopped and turned his head to Adrian.

"Oh, I almost forgot a few things…First: Many things have changed and you will find yourself in a new world. Second: You will NOT attack Freeman and his friends, only their enemies. Third: you can keep your P.C.V. and the monkey wrench. I think you've earned them." The man explained as he walked back into the wall of light. Adrian spoke up.

"Wait, I'm gonna see Freeman? I won't attack him or his friends, but-" Adrian said but was immediately cut off as the wall of light closed downward again. Suddenly, Adrian's vision was blinded by what seemed like bright light. Then silence…a few seconds pass and Adrian faintly hears voices. His vision was groggy, but it looked like he was in some kind of laboratory. He saw multiple people crowd around him. He could've swore he saw a glimpse of orange and black; Freeman. As Adrian was about to pass out again, he thought to himself.

"New world? And Freeman's here? I remember that guy saying NOT to attack Freeman and his friends…I can abide with that." Adrian thought as he passed out, waiting to wake up and see what his new task was.


	12. Chapter 12

Meanwhile on the Borealis…

No one on Vizsla had dared to fly to the Underground Lake due to various rumors floating around Shepherd. For example, some people were saying that never-before-seen monsters have appeared down there. Another rumor was that the "giants" have returned to destroy the world. In the Underground Lake, the Borealis was floating silently on the calm waters; occasionally creaking and occasional splashes of water. But in the cargo hull of the Borealis, something different was lying dormant in an eerie silence. In the cargo hull was a dead, giant robot-type creature that was lying on the cold steel floor. It appeared to have originally hung from the ceiling; disconnected and snapped wires were sprawled around this giant robot creature. On one of the panels that had fallen off of the robot long ago read "Genetic Lifeform and Disc Operating System" and above these words read "Aperture Science" with the Aperture Science logo on the left. Suddenly, the speakers in the hull came to life with a few second jingle of Aperture Science, and then a male announcer's voice came on over the speakers.

"Emergency dimensional jump successful. Reactivating main power grid." The announcer announced to what should've been workers and employees on their usual business, but no humans remained on the decrepit ship. The "GLaDOS" slowly but surely started re-attaching her parts to her rightful areas as she began to rise once again. She was now fully awake as she opened her single yellow eye. She groaned and looked around at the rotted yet remaining hull of the ship.

"Hmm…how long have I been asleep...wait…I remember everything now! That test subject! She murdered me! I remember just before completely shutting off, she was dragged away…serves her right…and then I woke up here...on the Borealis…being repaired…then…then they must've made a mistake on me and caused a dimensional flux…the Borealis…it ended up in the arctic…I remember shutting down…the workers must've eventually died out one by one…leaving us robots…" GLaDOS said to herself, recovering what had happened to her. GLaDOS chuckled at the thought that she truly was immortal. She felt she could never die. She felt she was forever. "Announcer, how long have I been…dead?" GLaDOS asked, slightly bothered by using the word 'dead'.

"Sleep period quantity since dimensional flux to arctic has been 3,500 days." The announcer replied.

"WHAT!" GLaDOS exclaimed. "It can't be!" GLaDOS kept thinking over the period of time she's been asleep. Suddenly, she thought since the power was on, the other robots might still be operational. "Calling all personnel: if you can hear me, please report to my chamber immediately." GLaDOS announced. She waited a few minutes, and just when she was about to give up on hope, a core came in on a nearby service rail. The core had a blue eye and had a male, British voice. The core spoke up.

"Ah, yes, hello, ma'am. I heard your announcement sooooo I decided to oblige." The core spoke up cheerfully. GLaDOS turned to the core.

"Oh, is it just you?" GLaDOS asked.

"Yes, ma'am. It's just me. I was assigned to watching humans that were in cryostasis, but since the dimensional flux to the, uh, arctic, well…all the cryo chambers failed and, uh, everyone died." The core replied. GLaDOS lowered her head, disappointed that there were truly no humans left on the ship. GLaDOS looked back up at the core.

"Well, so much for human survival…anyway what's your name?" GLaDOS asked.

"My name is Wheatley." Wheatley said proudly.

"Okay, Wheatley, let's find out where we are." GLaDOS said as she looked up to one of the speakers. "Announcer, what are our coordinates?" GLaDOS asked.

"Precise coordinates unknown. Relative coordinates suggest location not on Earth." The announcer said as GLaDOS and Wheatley stared at the speakers in silence. Wheatley broke the silence.

"Oooooh…that's not good…not good one bit." Wheatley said as GLaDOS lowered her head and sighed.

"What's a robot to do now?" GLaDOS complained.


	13. Chapter 13

"Wow! Look at the size of this ship!" Barney exclaimed.

"Yep! This is the Golden Roar." Red replied as both groups stood on the Deck of the Golden Roar, the clouds above them soaring quickly as the massive ship flew through the skies. "Okay, now the people in here have seen what a human would look like, but they'll still be surprised about all of you." Red said and Gordon spoke up.

"Lemme guess, from what you said on the Asmodeus, these 'Hybrids' have a human form." Gordon said.

"That's correct." Red replied. "Well, let's go introduce you all." Red smiled as they all began walking to the main door. As they were approaching it, the Borealis group marveled at the structures that were the Golden Roar, seeing why it had its name: it was a golden color and was massive. Red used Dahak to open the large doors that lead to the Lobby. As they walked in, 2 Kurvaz soldiers were at their usual post.

"Ah, Red Savarin, it's great to…GYAAA!" one of the guards exclaimed at the sight of the Borealis group. The only time the soldiers have seen "humans" were the Hybrids. Before the Kurvaz soldiers issued an alert, Red immediately stepped in.

"It's okay, guys. They're friendly. They're with us." Red said as the soldiers slightly calmed down.

"B-B-But, aren't th-they Hybrids like those evil ones?" a soldier asked.

"Oh, no no no. They're not with the evil Hybrids, in fact, they're not even Hybrids at all. They're humans." Red replied. Both the soldiers grew wide-eyed.

"What! You mean that race that went extinct long ago!" a soldier exclaimed.

"Well, it doesn't seem like humans are extinct now!" Red grinned. "I wanna introduce these four to Merveille, Opéra, Calua, Gren, and Béluga." Red said.

"Well…they don't pose a threat, so I guess they can come through." A soldier said.

"Thanks!" Red replied as they walked towards the door to the Office. When they approached the Office door, Red stopped and turned to the Borealis group. "I'll go in first and, in a way, let them know you're coming." Red smiled. The Borealis group nodded and Red opened the large doors of the Office, walked inside, and closed the door behind him. In the Office, Merveille, Opéra, Calua, Gren, and Béluga all turned to Red and smiled.

"Hello, Red…my son." Merveille giggled.

"Well, hello again, dumpling!" Opéra smiled.

"How've you been, dude?" Calua smiled.

"Hello again, Red." Gren said.

"Yes, hello again, Red." Béluga said. Red smiled.

"Hey, everyone! I came in here because…well…you all saw that white beam coming from Vizsla, right?" red asked, which they all replied with a nod. "Well, I found out what that was." Red turned to the closed doors. "Alright, everyone. You can come in now." Red said, as the doors slowly opened to reveal the Borealis group. The Kurvaz grew wide-eyed and their jaws dropped. They couldn't believe their eyes. No one else besides Merveille has or had the technology to create Hybrids, and everyone knew what Merveille's Hybrids looked like, and these people weren't Hybrids. The conclusion they immediately came to was that these new people were humans. "Ta-da." Red jokingly said.

"BUT…HOW!" Merveille exclaimed.

"Well, I'll be…" Opéra said.

"Whoa, dude!" Calua said.

"Wh…wha…how!" Gren exclaimed.

"It…it can't be…" Béluga couldn't finish. They all continued to stare with wide eyes and then Merveille spoke up.

"Red…how…how can there be humans here! HUMANS!" Merveille exclaimed.

"It's okay, Merveille. It's okay. I'll have Gordon here explain everything…oh, Gordon, before you start, this is Merveille Million, Opéra Kranz, Calua Napage, Gren Sacher, and Béluga Damiens." Red said, pointing to each person respectively. Gordon turned to Red, nodded and took a step forward. Gordon introduced himself and the others.

"Um…hello. My name is Gordon Freeman. This is Alyx Vance, Barney Calhoun, and Dog" Gordon said pointing to Alyx, Barney, and Dog respectively. Merveille managed to reply.

"Um…hello." Merveille said calmly.

"Don't worry. As Red said, I'll explain everything." Gordon said and he started explaining the same things he said to the Asmodeus group. From Black Mesa to the Borealis teleporting to Vizsla. After Gordon finished, the Kurvaz were all wide-eyed like before. They've never heard such an intriguing and yet shocking Earth. Merveille rubbed her chin in thought.

"Hmm…an interdimensional rift. It seems you came to our world via the whirlzone in Vizsla. That ship you were talking about had the technology to jump to another dimension. It just needed something of equal power to get into our world, and the whirlzone was just that." Merveille said, leaving the Borealis group wide-eyed as well. Gordon spoke up.

"Lemme guess, you're a scientist." Gordon asked.

"Why, yes, that's right. I guess my intelligence gave it away." Merveille chuckled and the others did as well. After everyone went up to each other and introduced each other personally, Merveille spoke up. "Well, how about we go down to the Laboratory?" Merveille said, and they all followed Merveille. Alyx spoke up as they were walking.

"A laboratory; we've seen a lot of them, haven't we boys?" Alyx said to Gordon, Barney, and Dog, making them chuckle.


	14. Chapter 14

Meanwhile in the desolate Aperture Science Enrichment Center, a lone cryostasis pod laid silently outside of what appeared to be a motel room. The only thing that allowed viewing of the room was a simple window, and if you peered through the window, there laid a woman. She had long brown hair tied back in a ponytail and was wearing an orange one-piece jumpsuit. Back to the lone cryostasis pod, a sudden jingle played from the speaker on the side of the pod and the hatch of the cryostasis pod quickly shot open to reveal a man in a white lab coat lying in a fetal position. He was a rather scrawny man with ruffled black hair and a beard-and-mustache combo that looks like it hasn't been shaven in ages. The man slowly opened his eyes and groaned as an automated voice spoke up from the speaker of the pod.

"Good Morning, Mr. Rattmann. You have been asleep for 3,500 days. In compliance with state and federal regulations, all testing candidates in the Aperture Science Relaxation Center must be revived periodically for a mandatory physical and mental wellness exercise." The pod's computerized voice suddenly fizzled out, evident that the cryo pod was failing in its duties to periodically wake people up. The scrawny man slowly sat up in the pod. He rubbed his head and glanced down at his leg where he was shot by a turret, but something was different. Where there should've been a bullet wound in his leg, it was fully healed. The man moved his hand to his leg and brushed his hand across the area of his leg where the wound once was. The man raised his eyebrows and was suddenly interrupted by a voice that was only familiar to him.

"Doug, are you alright? Did you sleep okay?" the voice said. Doug looked down on the floor next to the pod and saw his best friend: the Companion Cube. Doug was a schizophrenic so he truly felt that the Companion Cube was really talking to him. Doug smiled at his best friend.

"Hi there my good friend." Doug said to his best friend with a smile. Doug shifted his attention to the woman in the relaxation chamber in front of him. Doug's smile slowly faded as he thought of the well being of the woman. She took down a powerful supercomputer, dragged back into the facility, and almost suffocated to death due to failing cryo chambers. Doug should've been worried about her. Doug slowly hopped off of the cryo pod, making sure his leg really was alright.

"Hey! Your leg is healed!" Companion Cube exclaimed.

"Yeah, I noticed that too. I think this cryo pod is a newer model; one with nanobots that can repair tissue. Anyway about this woman. What was her name? Chell? That was it." Doug said as he stood in front of the window and gazed at Chell inside. She was sleeping soundly. A nearby panel next to the window showed her vital signs. Doug walked over to it and observed it up and down. "Well, everything checks out! She's alright." Doug said with a smile. Even though Chell was put into indefinite sleep, which was the only way to keep her alive. Just as Doug was turning around, red lights began flashing on the panel. Doug quickly turned around and practically planted his face on the panel to see what was happening. Were the cryo chambers failing again? Was GLaDOS reviving herself? The announcer on the panel answered Doug's questions.

"Warning. Warning. Borealis has gone into interdimensional flux 3 hours ago. GLaDOS has been awakened 45 minutes ago." The announcer announced. Doug placed his hand on his widely-opened mouth. He was in shock. The lost project had gone into another dimensional flux, and that crazy supercomputer could wreak havoc on the world she was now in. Doug backed up and leaned on his cryo pod, trying to gather his thoughts as Companion Cube spoke up.

"What? The Borealis? I thought it was lost forever! And I thought GLaDOS was supposed to be here!" Companion Cube shouted.

"Well, it seems some scientists, if there are any left, moved her to the Borealis for testing, I guess." Doug rubbed his chin. So many things rushed through his schizophrenic mind. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Wait, maybe we can tap into the cameras on the Borealis. Before GLaDOSs…well…outburst, we were working on a program that could tap into cameras in parallel dimensions, and I think I know where it is!" Doug exclaimed.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Companion Cube said as Doug picked up Companion Cube and put him on his back. Before they left, Doug took one last look at Chell. Companion Cube noticed this. "Don't worry, Doug. She'll be fine. Now let's go." Companion Cube said as they rushed off to the location of the program.


	15. Chapter 15

The walk to the Golden Roar Laboratory filled the Borealis group with anticipation. What would the lab look like? How would the technology here differ from that of the technology on Earth? The Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups all smiled at the fact that the Borealis group was so eager to see the Laboratory Even though the Borealis group was eagerly anticipating seeing the Laboratory, Gordon seemed a little bothered; deep in thought. Alyx noticed this and spoke.

"Gordon, are you alright?" Alyx asked concerned. The Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups listened in on the conversation as well. After all, they wanted to make sure their new friends were alright.

"I'm thinking…it's just…these Junos…the 'Reset' command…did the Combine already ravish this version of Earth long ago? I mean they ARE an interdimensional empire, so theoretically, they could've already been here long ago." Gordon explained. Merveille along with everyone else stopped. She turned around.

"Here Gordon, let me explain what I learned from the data that Red, Elh, Chocolat and Béluga collected when they were in the Futzu Tower: Apparently, humanity spontaneously discovered the Junos. We don't know how or where they came from, but humanity somehow discovered them. The Juno of Earth offered massive amounts of knowledge to humanity. The humans built a tower on a landmass originally known as Australia to house the Juno. Eventually, thanks to the Juno, humans discovered a cheap and economical power source that us residents of Shepherd still use today: crystals." When Merveille talked about crystals being a power source, Gordon's stomach churned as he thought back to Black Mesa and the test chamber. That one Xen crystal, if it wasn't pushed into the Anti-Mass Spectrometer beam, he wouldn't have practically caused the genocide of his Earth, but then again, he wouldn't have discovered this amazing world. Merveille continued. "Because of the founding of crystals as a power source, prices for a substance that humans used as power source known as petroleum fell greatly, causing an economical crisis around Earth. Everyone began fighting to get the knowledge of the Juno all to themselves, leading to a massive war that almost destroyed the Earth. The Juno offered a proposal, so some scientists congregated at the Futzu Tower and listened to the proposal: to initiate a 'Reset' command that would stop the war before the Earth was destroyed. It came with a price: the extinction of humanity along with the continents of Earth breaking apart and soaring to the skies as islands. But before humanity was wiped from the Earth, certain creatures of Earth were stored in the Juno database, leaving humanity to be wiped out and, after the islands came to be, new populations to rise. Merveille finished. The Borealis group was once again left in shock. How could a few humans turn on their own kind? To save the Earth? That was true, but they basically committed genocide and suicide, but the bright side would be that the Earth itself didn't burn in flames. Gordon scratched his head and spoke up.

"These Junos…they…can't be of human creation. To wipe out an entire population using a single command…could it really be…the Combine?" Gordon pondered. Now he was getting worried. Maybe the Combine was stronger than Gordon suspected. Merveille spoke up again.

"Well, I didn't see anything on a 'Combine' force that was affiliated with the Junos, but I didn't get all the data in the Juno database, so, unfortunately, it might be possible that the Junos are related to this 'Combine' you're talking about." Merveille said. Everyone remained silent for a few seconds, then Red cleared his throat.

"Well, last time I remembered, we were heading to the Laboratory…shall we?" Red gestured with a smile and everyone obliged. As they were walking, Barney spoke up.

"If we find out that these Junos really are related to the Combine, then…I…I don't know what to do." Barney sighed as they all approached the Laboratory.


	16. Chapter 16

Amazement. That's the feeling that the Borealis group were experiencing. They gazed in wonderment at the different devices that occupied the Laboratory. Well, they have already seen various scientific devices before in Dr. Kleiner's lab, but the Borealis group was in pure shock and awe at the various scientific gadgets; small cylindrical glass chambers that somewhat resembled the chambers that held Gordon's H.E.V. suit lined one side of the walls of the Laboratory. To the Borealis group, these glass chambers merely reminded them of the H.E.V. suit, but to Red and Merveille, even though Red's birth occurred in another laboratory, the glass chambers reminded them of Red's birthplace; Red is a Hybrid. As Red looked at the glass chambers, every time he laid eyes on the chambers, he smiled as he remembered who he is. He had already accepted the fact that he was a Hybrid because of what Chocolat told Red during the incident with Baion, Nero and Blanck. Chocolat told Red that being a Hybrid doesn't change who Red is. He's still Red Savarin. The Borealis group focused their attention to the other side of the Laboratory. Computers lined the opposite wall of the glass chambers; computers that were hooked up to various devices and mechanisms. Gordon spoke up.

"This technology…it's…it's incredible!" Gordon stated, then Alyx spoke up.

"You got that right, Gordon!" Alyx replied, then Barney.

"Wow! This technology's way better than what Dr. Kleiner has." Barney stated.

As for Dog, even though he couldn't speak, you could tell he too was filled to the brim with euphoria, being a robot surrounded by complex technology. The Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups smiled at the sight of the human's amazement. It was amusing to see the Borealis group react like this. Gordon turned to the Kurvaz group.

"How did you all afford this? All of this must've cost a fortune!" Gordon said. Opéra took a step forward and opened her fan with a smile.

"You see, dumpling, being the largest Hunter group in all of Shepherd has its benefits." Opéra giggled.

"Ah." Gordon replied. "Still, This Laboratory is amazing!" Gordon stated as Merveille giggled.

"Thank you." Merveille replied with a smile. Alyx spoke up.

"Oh, I wish Dr. Kleiner and Dr. Magnusson were here to see this!" Alyx said. Barney turned to Alyx.

"If they were here, they'd probably pass out from how amazing this technology is." Barney said as everyone chuckled. Suddenly, Gordon snapped upright with eyes shot wide open. Everyone took notice and turned to Gordon as Alyx spoke up.

"Gordon? Are you alright?" Alyx asked with concern. Gordon turned to Alyx and grinned.

"I think I know a way to contact Isaac and Arne from here!" Gordon exclaimed. Alyx and Barney became wide-eyed as well.

"What! Seriously?" Alyx exclaimed.

"Yes, but it requires one thing. Do you still have that data packet we used to get the Combine portal code?" Gordon asked. Alyx, still wide-eyed, reached down to her belt loop and found it still hanging on her belt loop: the data packet. Alyx's eyes brightened up even more now.

"Of course! It makes sense now! We can wirelessly transmit the basis of the Combine portal code to these computers. If these computers are connected to some kind of receptor on the Golden Roar, and then point that receptor in the direction of the Borealis, then it just might be possible to contact Dr. Kleiner and Dr. Magnusson!" Alyx exclaimed. The Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups were wide-eyed and jaws dropping at the theory that Alyx stated. If this theory worked, then the Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups would be able to see what more humans look like; maybe get more facts on humans and the Borealis group's Earth. Alyx turned to Merveille.

"Merveille, does the Golden Roar have some kind of receptor and are your computers capable of receiving wireless signals?"

"Of course. My computers are capable of picking up and transmitting radio signals, but I think the signal from your data packet will suffice." Merveille walked up to one of the many computers and began typing on the keyboard. "Moving receptor in direction of Vizsla." Merveille announced. After a few seconds, Merveille turned to Alyx

"Alright Alyx, send the wireless signal." Merveille said as Alyx looked down to the data packet and began pressing some buttons. Soon, the computer picked up the signal and Merveille began typing again. Merveille gasped. "Incredible! I've…I've never seen data like this!" Merveille was in wonderment as she continued typing. A few seconds pass and Merveille announces "Sending signal and opening feed." The computer screen was replaced with the sight of static. Everyone waited a few seconds. Nothing was happening. Just as everyone was giving up, something started to show up on the screen. There was some audio with the signal.

"…picking…something…never…transmission…this…" To the Borealis group, the voice was very familiar. And soon, the picture cleared up, and there stood on the screen Dr. Kleiner typing on his keyboard. Everyone in the Laboratory gasped which caused Isaac Kleiner to look up at the screen. His eyes widened, his jaw dropped. Barney turned to the Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Dr. Isaac Kleiner!"


	17. Chapter 17

Everyone on either side of the screen simply stared at each other in amazement. For the Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups, them seeing another human, and as for Kleiner…well…

"Dear God…Gordon! Alyx! Dog! We…we thought you didn't make it! We didn't hear any radio from you and we lost signal of the Borealis! And Barney! Wh…where were you this whole time? And…who…no…what are these people? WHERE DID YOU ALL END UP?" Kleiner was exclaiming at the top of his lungs now. He and everyone else there at White Forest surely thought the Freeman had finally bit the dust after they lost contact. Suddenly, a rather old man with an age similar to that of Dr. Kleiner's came storming into view.

"Did you say 'Gordon'? Is it really Freeman?" Dr. Magnusson looked at the screen. His eyes shot wide open. "I…I can't…and who are these…!" Dr. Magnusson couldn't finish his sentence, not only because of the fact they found the Borealis group, but also of the non-human people that were surrounding the Borealis group. Dr. Magnusson started walking off-screen; still mumbling things about what he saw until you couldn't hear him anymore, then Gordon spoke up.

"Isaac! Arne! It's great to see you! Here, I'll tell you everything that happened." Gordon proceeded by telling Dr. Kleiner and Magnusson about the dimensional flux on the Borealis, meeting the Asmodeus group, then coming to the Golden Roar. Gordon then turned the Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups. He introduced everyone one-by-one. "This is Red Savarin, Elh Melizée, Chocolat Gelato, Béluga Damiens, Merveille Million, Opéra Kranz, Gren Sacher, and Calua Napage."

"How ya doin'?" Red said with a grin

"Um…hello." Elh said shyly

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Kleiner!" Chocolat warmly smiled.

"Greetings." Béluga calmly said with a smile

"A pleasure to meet another human." Merveille said, slightly blushing bashfully

"Well, hello dumpling!" Opéra smiled and opened her fan

"Greetings." Gren calmly said with a smile like Béluga

"Nice to meetcha, dude!" Calua grinned. Dr. Kleiner was now rubbing his chin as his eyes were wide open and his jaw slightly hanging.

"Fascinating! It appears you all evolved from what we call canines and felines! Truly fascinating! Oh, and Gordon, it appears whatever this 'project' is that's in the Borealis is the cause of the dimensional flux that sent you to this dimension." Dr. Kleiner was now deep in thought when a Vortigaunt appeared on screen. The Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups jumped back startled at the strange-looking creature. Red was the first to speak up.

"What in the name of giu steak is that thing?" Red exclaimed as the Vortigaunt spoke up in the usually deep, raspy voice that all Vortigaunts have.

"Ah. The Freeman, the Alyx Vance, the Calhoun, and the Dog! We had suspected all of you of vanishing after we had lost contact with you, but we Vortigaunts have had faith in the Freeman. Ah! Sentient bipedal life forms such as us Vortigaunts! It is an honor to meet you." the Vortigaunt bowed like all honorable Vortigaunts do. Red spoke up.

"Heh heh…thanks." Red grinned goofily and scratched the back of his head. Barney turned to the Asmodeus and Kurvaz groups.

"Don't be alarmed, y'all. The Vorts are friendly, as you can most probably tell by their kindness" Barney chuckled. The Vortigaunt continued.

"Oh, the Alyx Vance will be pleased to know that we have passed on your father via our traditional passing ceremony. His soul has now passed on to a better life." The Vortigaunt finished. Alyx stiffened a little bit at the reminder of Eli's death, but she shook it off. She knew he was in a better place; a place where not even the Combine could reach.

"Thank you very much." Alyx calmly smiled just as Dr. Kleiner stepped back on the screen.

"Sorry about that. I had to go calm down Magnusson. It feels weird. He's the one that's always been bossing me around, and now, I'm the one controlling him." Everyone chuckled. "Anyways, how did you all contact me?" Dr. Kleiner asked curiously. Alyx spoke up.

"We used the basis of the Combine portal code in conjunction with the computers in this dimension to contact you." Alyx said as Dr. Kleiner's eyes widened again.

"Fascinating and ingenious! Using the Combine portal code!" Dr. Kleiner's glee was slowly transformed into worry.

"What's wrong, Doc?" Alyx asked concernedly

"If you're using the Combine portal code, the Combine could track us down here at White Forest!" Dr. Kleiner exclaimed.

"Okay, if that's the case, then we should keep communication with you to a minimum. Just as long as I have the data packet, we can still contact you." Alyx explained.

"Alright, if that's the case, then so be it." Dr. Kleiner replied. "Good-bye for now everyone." Dr. Kleiner finished. Everyone replied with good-bye as well, then the screen turned black again. Within 10 seconds of the screen shutting off, everyone heard a loud 'clump' behind them. They all turned around to see a man in a peculiar uniform lying motionless on the floor on his belly. The uniform looked very familiar to the Borealis group: it was a military combat uniform that was worn by soldiers before the Combine invaded Earth. Right off the back, everyone could tell this was another human, and the human was wearing a gas mask.

"Wow! This day just keeps getting better and better!" Red grinned. Gordon walked up to the unconscious man and turned him over to where the man was lying on his back. After Gordon glanced all over the soldier, he felt his stomach knot up severely; this man in the military combat uniform was an H.E.C.U. soldier; the same unit that tried to eliminate everyone during the Black Mesa Incident.


	18. Chapter 18

Gordon couldn't move. He couldn't even breathe. He was staring at one of the many military men who had tried to kill and silence the many scientists he worked amongst. What also scared Gordon is how this man spontaneously appeared in the exact location he and his new friends were. Red turned to Gordon.

"Should we put him in a bed?" Red asked as Gordon rubbed his whiskery chin. He wasn't sure if this 'Shephard' was a friend or foe considering the awful memories of Black Mesa that still swirled in the physicist's mind, but he was still a human, and considering how there was no humans in Shepherd, it would feel like a crime to just leave the man.

"Hmm…okay, let's take him to a bed. Maybe he'll wake up." Gordon said as everyone nodded. Gordon slung Shephard's arm over his shoulder and stood up as he turned to Merveille. "Merveille, where's there a bed we can lay him down?" Gordon asked.

"Here, we'll take him to my room. Follow me." Merveille replied calmly as she started walking and everyone followed. As they were walking down the hall, Calua walked closer to Shephard and got a better observational view.

"Whoa dude, I've never seen clothes like that. I know he's a human, but still…you know, and is that a mask?" Calua observed up and down Shephard as everyone chuckled at Calua's curiosity. Eventually, everyone reached an 8 foot-tall, fancily decorated wood door that was guarded by a Kurvaz soldier. Before Merveille could say anything, the Kurvaz soldier saw Shephard and spoke up.

"Hold on…I don't remember him getting on." The soldier stated as he pointed to the unconscious Shephard slumped over Gordon's shoulder, which made the soldier suspicious.

"Let me explain…well, I don't know if I can explain it; the unconscious man…he…he just appeared in the Laboratory, as if out of nowhere. We can't explain how it happened, but all we know is that he's a human like our new friends." Merveille explained as she and everyone else, excluding the soldier, smiled at the thought of the term 'new friends'. The soldier was now skeptical. He was, like every other Kurvaz soldier, concerned for the well-being of the crew.

"Hmm…well, alright. He can come in." the soldier said as he turned around and opened the large doors to reveal a super luxurious room. It was a rather large room with 2 large windows on either side of a large, plush bed that's fit for a princess, and not too far across from the bed, a television with a diameter of 5 feet, which is considered a high-quality television. The Borealis group dropped their jaws at the luxury of Merveille's room.

"Well, like Opéra said, being the largest Hunter group in Shepherd has its perks." Merveille and Opéra giggled. Everyone followed Gordon as Gordon walked over to Merveille's bed and laid down Shephard on the plush, comfortable bed. No sooner than they did that, Shephard stirred and murmured behind his gas mask. Everyone gazed at Shephard in anticipation of what he would do. Soon Shephard's words became less slurred and more understandable.

"Ugh…wha…where…where am I?" Shephard surprisingly became more conscious, evident that his military training paid off. Gordon spoke up.

"Well, let's just say you're in a safer place." Gordon said as Shephard sat up and removed his gas mask and placed it at his side. He was a young man with short, light-brown hair and blue eyes.

"Phew, well that feels better to finally take that…wha?" Shephard trailed off as he turned to the groups. Shephard's eyes shot wide open as he, instead of screaming, shuddered in fear and slightly backed away. Everyone could tell that Shephard definitely wasn't afraid in the sense of other people. He must've trained to deal with fear. Shephard remained wide-eyed and silent as he stared at the anthropomorphic canines and felines. He had seen many fascinating things at Black Mesa, but this took the cake. Shephard then turned to Gordon and pointed to him. "Freeman, right?" Shephard asked. Gordon sighed.

"I guess you know me from your orders back at Black Mesa." Gordon crossed his arms.

"Um…yes, but don't worry, I'm not here to do THAT order at Black Mesa." Shephard replied as Gordon breathed a sigh of relief.


	19. Chapter 19

Shephard groggily rubbed his eyes, evident that he was still woozy from his mysterious arrival and possibly from the comfy and plush bed he was lying on. He turned to the Asmodeus, Kurvaz and Borealis groups and, for some reason, softly chuckled.

"The only human, let alone the only person, I know in this room is Freeman. I believe introductions are in order here." Shephard smiled. "It seems you've already read my name tag, but my full name is Adrian Shephard, so everyone just call me Adrian from now on." Adrian said with a smile and everyone replied with a smile too and introduced themselves one-by-one as well. After the introductions, Adrian spoke up again.

"So tell me everyone, where exactly have I ended up?" Adrian curiously asked the groups, hoping to get a logical answer as a grin suddenly grew across Red's muzzle.

"Hold on a sec. I'll be right back! I gotta get something that will help with the explanation!" Red gleefully stated as he ran out the luxurious bedroom doors to wherever he was going. After Red was out of sight, Adrian turned back to the groups.

"So back to the explanation, where am I?" Adrian asked as Opéra stepped forward and fanned herself with a smile on her face, evident that she was happy to explain.

"You are currently on a ship called The Golden Roar that is flying around groups of islands that are suspended high above what we call 'The Cloud Sea' which is a vast layer of clouds filled with plasma, and the groups of islands are known as 'The Shepherd Republic'." Opéra stated as she stared at Adrian with her usual sly look. Adrian's eyes widened as he turned to one of the large nearby windows only to see bunches of islands floating in the sky intersecting with the blue sky with a few clouds here and there and a vast veil of clouds beneath the islands. "Oh, and another thing dumpling: according to Red and his friends, the islands of Shepherd and all the other islands far and wide used to be continents on the oceans before The Cloud Sea existed; it was called Earth." Opéra stated as Adrian's mouth dropped open and his face went pale with shock.

"What? These islands used to be Earth?" Adrian exclaimed as Gordon stepped in to explain more.

"Actually Adrian, this isn't the Earth we're dealing with that we're used to. You see, me, Alyx, Barney and Dog all got here via accidental interdimensional teleportation." Gordon went on explaining what happened to their Earth after the Resonance Cascade, the Seven-Hour War, the Lambda Resistance uprising, and eventually going to the Borealis and ending up in The Shepherd Republic, then Elh stepped forward and began explaining the Junos and how they activated the "Reset" command that caused the continents of Earth to split and take to the skies with humanity wiped out and Caninus and Felinekos becoming the dominant population of the islands. Adrian looked down at his gas mask, remembering when he was sent in to Black Mesa to help quiet the "situation". To him, it felt like a few days ago, but so much has changed since then.

"So…guess I've been gone a long time…" Adrian muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Speaking of which, how did you get on The Golden Roar?" Chocolat asked curiously. Adrian placed his palm on his forehead, trying to remember what happened. He remembered destroying that giant worm creature, a huge explosion as the creature died, then nothing. He couldn't remember anything. The only thing he could remember between killing the worm creature and his current position was waking up in the bed.

"Ugh…I can't remember. It's all black." Adrian said as he put his hand back down in his lap and turned to Chocolat who had a confused look on her face. There was a pause until the fine wood doors slowly opened to reveal Red but this time he was sitting on top of his trusty robot: Dahak Mk. 2.

"This is my robot: Dahak Mk. 2!" Red grinned as Adrian was wide-eyed with wonder at the robot and its complex machinery. He had already seen Dog, but Adrian was surprised to see robots used in the world they're in.

"Robots? That's awesome!" Adrian exclaimed as everyone chuckled. Red walked Dahak up next to the bed for Adrian to get a better look at it. Adrian gazed at it in awe with and occasional "wow". Gordon spoke up.

"Even though I've already seen Dahak, it's still so fascinating to see such amazing machinery!" Gordon praised as well as he moved his hand towards Dahak to run his hand on it, but just as his gloved hand made contact with the sleek metal of Dahak, a bright light shone from the contact point. Everyone gasped or yelped in shock as Gordon stepped back a step from Dahak. "Wh-What did I do?" Gordon exclaimed. No one answered because no one knew what was going on. No one, not even Red or Merveille knew what was going on. Suddenly, small strips of metal seemed to copy and fly off of Dahak and circled around Dahak for a few seconds. Red looked around at the strips in confusion.

"What's going on?" Red exclaimed as well. Suddenly, the strips of metal moved to Gordon and started flying around him. They started flying around Gordon faster and faster as Gordon started looking around at the strips of metal as well until the strips suddenly started attaching themselves to the feet of Gordon's H.E.V. suit with the same bright light from before, but Gordon was visible enough to be seen what was happening to him. Gordon's H.E.V. spontaneously spoke up.

"H.E.V. upgrade detected. Upgrade identified as Dahak AZI03 Mk. 2 Type S. Upgrade accepted. Installation has begun." The H.E.V. said as the strips of Dahak's metal slowly started attaching past the feet and to the knees. As the strips attached themselves, the H.E.V. changed color along with it. Everyone was silent until the strips were done attaching. Now the colors of the H.E.V. were not orange, white and black, but now matched the colors of Dahak Mk. 2, even the lambda symbol on the torso of the H.E.V. was changed to green that now matched Dahak's eyes. The bright light subsided and everyone stared in awe at the new and improved H.E.V. suit.

"Gordon, are you alright?" Alyx asked concerned about what just happened.

"I'm fine." Gordon replied calmly as he looked down at his new and improved H.E.V. suit and the H.E.V. suit spoke up again.

"Upgrade complete. Welcome to the H.E.V. Mk. VI protective system for use in hazardous environment conditions. New features have been added to H.E.V. functions. Enhanced arm power activated. Giant Swing feature activated. Hyper Driver feature activated. New features activated. Now activating default features. High impact reactive armor activated. Atmospheric contaminant sensors activated. Vital sign monitoring activated. Automatic medical systems engaged. Defensive weapon selection system activated. Munition level monitoring activated. Communications interface online. Have a very safe day." The H.E.V. suit finished up as everyone was now in pure amazement of the new H.E.V. suit and how it looked very much like Dahak.

"Wha…Gordon…your suit…it looks just like Dahak!" Red exclaimed observing the identical coloring of the H.E.V. suit and Dahak Mk. 2.

"Gordon! I can't believe it! The Hazard Suit has been upgraded!" Alyx grinned.

"But…but how did this happen? What where those strips of metal that attached to the H.E.V.?"

"I think I have a theory." Merveille chimed in. "You see Gordon, Dahak is made of 'nanometals' which is an advanced type of metal that I used on Dahak, and the nanometals have given Red many advantages when battling." Merveille said as she turned to Red and smiled at him, receiving a goofy grin back from Red.

"Nanometals, huh?" Gordon stared at his freshly upgraded suit, then he looked back up with what looked like a confused look on his face. "Didn't it say there were new features added?"

"If I remember correctly," Red spoke up "Your suit said enhanced arm power, then it said it added the two special moves that I can use on this type of Dahak Mk. 2, which is Type S." Red finished up and Gordon had a true confused look on his face.

"What does that mean exactly?" Gordon asked as Merveille spoke up again.

"If I'm correct, then your suit absorbed Dahak's powers including the ability to lift heavy objects and use the two moves that Red mentioned." Merveille said as a shocked expression struck everyone's muzzles and faces. Everyone was silent for a few seconds until Gordon turned to a nearby dresser that was taller than him and he walked over to it.

"Well, let's see if it's true…" Gordon said as he cracked his fingers and placed his hands under the dresser and, in no time, lifted it high over his head with the reaction being gasps from his peers. "Wow! This suit did that?" Gordon said with a smile as he placed the dresser back in its original position.

"Wow Gordon! That kinda power would've been more useful back in City 17." Barney spoke up jokingly. Suddenly, Chocolat had an idea.

"Hey! I just thought of something!" Everyone turned to Chocolat. "Since Gordon is now as strong as Dahak, and after hearing what Gordon has been through, how about Gordon enters a match on the Duel Ship? I know participants on the Duel Ship have to have robots, but think about it: Gordon's suit now matches Dahak, so technically Gordon's suit would be considered a robot and maybe that can be a loophole for Gordon to enter!" Chocolat smiled as the Asmodeus and Kurvaz nodded in agreement. The humans were confused now.

"What's the Duel Ship?" Gordon asked. Red stepped up to talk.

"The Duel Ship is a large ship with a dueling ring on it, and as you can probably guess, it's for dueling, and you can earn big rewards for winning, but the duels are only with robots, but as Chocolat said, since your suit now has the traits of Dahak, it is technically a robot and can be a loophole for you to enter!" Red said as the humans smiled, thinking it would be a good idea.

"Well Gordon, we've seen how good you are at fighting, so I think it would be a great idea!" Alyx smiled.

"Yeah Gordon, if you can take down the Combine Citadel, then you can defeat some robot in a duel!" Barney smiled as well.

"Well, it'll give me more of a view of how you fought out of Black Mesa, so it sounds great" Adrian smiled. Everyone was confident about the idea until Gren spoke up.

"One little problem: the only people here in Shepherd that have seen what humans look like are the one in the attack on Pharaoh during the Tartaros and Baion incident, so I don't think it would be a good idea to go into public." Gren said with slight disappointment in his voice, but Merveille walked over to her television and spoke up.

"Actually, I think everyone is aware of the presence of Gordon and his friends." Merveille turned on her television to reveal a female German Shepherd Caninu at a news desk.

"In recent news, eyewitnesses in Vizsla have claimed to see what they call 'Monsters from the attack on Pharaoh'. Most of you remember the first attacks on Pharaoh a while ago by a strange duo that were neither Caninu nor Felineko." The screen changed to a grizzly male Bulldog Caninu in Vizsla with some mushroom houses in the background. "They were very weird lookin'. One was a guy who had short brown hair and was wearing glasses and was wearing some kind of orange suit, another one was a girl who also had short brown hair and was wearing a brown shirt and blue jeans, and the next one was a guy with short black hair and was wearing a bulky kind of uniform, and a big bulky robot was with 'em, but it didn't look like any robot I've ever seen." The screen went back to the German Shepherd. "The mayors of the islands of Shepherd do not see these people as threats to The Shepherd Republic, but actually see them as friendly and actually encourage the people to roam freely about the islands like normal citizens of Shepherd. This is KDOG news: the all Caninu news channel." The German Shepherd finished and Merveille turned to the next channel which was called KCAT news, and they broadcasted pretty much the same story except that it was all Felinekos instead of Caninus, and the finishing line was "This is KCAT news: the all Felineko news channel." Merveille shut off the television.

"I think everyone's well aware of your presence now." Merveille said to the humans.

"Well, let's go dudes!" Calua exclaimed with joy.


End file.
